Craigslist to dump 'erotic services' ads

SAN FRANCISCO — Online classified ads service Craigslist will dump its "erotic services" category that critics have called a front for prostitution and replace it with an adult category that will be manually reviewed by site employees, the company said Wednesday.

As of today, postings to the erotic category will no longer be accepted. In seven days, the category will be removed, Craigslist said.

The sex-service listings have faced intense scrutiny following the murder last month of a masseuse, who advertised on Craigslist in Boston. Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old Boston University medical student, was charged with the killing and with attacks on two other women he met through Craigslist.

Tabloids dubbed Markoff "the Craigslist killer."

The murder followed the sentencing last month of a Minnesota man convicted of killing a woman who responded to a babysitting ad on Craigslist.

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"We're trying to strike a new balance for state attorneys general, legal businesses that advertise, advocates for free speech, and Internet law experts," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in a phone interview.

The 14-year-old site generates more than 20 billion page views per month in 50 countries. Its free listings cover everything from apartments to jobs and cars.

The controversial erotic services is one of 100 categories on Craigslist, and accounts for about 1% of total ads, Buckmaster says. The private, San Francisco-based company does not comment on its revenue.

In a lawsuit filed in March, Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff Tom Dart called the erotic category the "largest source of prostitution in America." Buckmaster dismissed the suit as "baseless."

Last week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the attorneys general of Connecticut and Missouri met with Craigslist officials to put an end to ads they claim were advertisements for illegal sexual activities.

"We're very encouraged that Craigslist is doing the right thing in eliminating its online red light district with prostitution and pornography in plain sight," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. "We'll be watching and investigating critically to make sure this measure is more than just a name change."

"This is a good next step but by no means is it the ultimate or complete solution," he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press